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UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


Agricultural  Experiment  Station 


BULLETIN  No.  164 


MILK  REQUIRED  TO  RAISE  A  DAIRY  CALF 


BY  WILBER  J.  ERASER  AND  ROYDEN  E.  BRAND 


•    URBANA,  ILLINOIS,  JULY,  1913 


CONTENTS  OF  BULLETIN  No.    164 

1.  Description  of  present  conditions  and  presentation  of  facts  showing" 
that  many  dairymen  now  lose  money  by  not  raising  the  heifer  calves  from 
their  best  cows.  Page  437. 

2.  FIRST  TEST. — The  results  obtained  when  the  calves  were  fed  at  the 
least  possible  cost  in  milk  without  serious  injury.     The  necessity  of  giving 
calves  a  good  start  in  life.  Pages  439-44. 

3.  SECOND  TEST. — The  possibility  of  keeping  calves  in  a  healthy  condi- 
tion on  a  moderate  amount  of  milk,  taking  into  consideration  the  probable 
future  of  the  calves  as  well  as  the  first  cost  of  feed.  Pages  444-51. 

4.  THIRD  TEST. — The  results  of  the  second  test  confirmed.    The  amount 
of  milk  on  which  it  is  possible  to  raise  a  calf.  Pages  452-53. 

5.  SUMMARY  AND  CONCLUSIONS. — Table  giving  the  amount  and  money 
value  of  whole  and  skim  milk  consumed  by  each  calf  in  the  three  tests,  and 
the  average  of  all  calves  for  the  three  tests.  Pages  454-56. 

6.  Why  it  pays  to  raise  heifers.  Page  456. 

7.  Brief  statement  of  calf-feeding  experiments  undertaken  at  other  sta- 
tions. Page  457. 


MILK  REQUIRED  TO  EAISE  A  DAIRY  CALF 

BY  WILBUR  J.  FRASER,  CHIEF  IN  DAIRY  HUSBANDRY,  AND 
ROYDBN  E.  BRAND,  ASSOCIATE  IN  DAIRY  HUSBANDRY 

INTRODUCTION 

x 

One  of  the  greatest  problems  in  successful  dairying  is  to  obtain 
good  cows,  The  fact  that  every  year  it  is  becoming  more  difficult 
to  buy  really  efficient  producers  makes  it  clear  that  the  surest,  most 
economical,  and  most  satisfactory  way  to  build  up  an  efficient  dairy 
herd,  or  to  keep  it  supplied  with  good  cows  after  it  is  once  estab- 
lished, is  to  raise  the  heifer  calves  from  the  best  cows  bred  to  a 
good  pure-bred  dairy  sire.  Furthermore,  unless  a  dairyman  raises 
the  heifer  calves  \vith  which  to  replenish  his  herd,  it  is  almost  im- 
possible to  keep  the  herd  free  from  tuberculosis  and  contagious 
abortion. 

Many  Illinois  dairymen  are  not  raising  the  heifer  calves,  even 
from  their  best  stock  but  are  selling  them,  good,  bad,  and  indiffer- 
ent for  veal,  making  no  provision  for  perpetuating  their  herds  or 
the  milking  qualities  of  the  best  animals  in  them.  These  dairymen 
depend  upon  buying  cows  with  which  to  replenish  their  herds.  In 
the!  vicinity  of  Elgin  alone,  four  cow  dealers  sold  7,000  cows  in 
one  year,  and,  besides  this  number,  many  cows  were  shipped  in  by 
the  dairymen  themselves.  But  there  are  few  of  the  best  animals  for 
sale,  and  this  means  that  the  dealers  cannot  get  enough  really  good 
producers  to  supply  their  purchasers.  In  order  that  a  dairyman  may 
be  in  the  highest  degree  successful,  therefore,  he  must  raise  the 
heifer  calves  from  his  best  cows.  Calf  raising  should  be  a  part  ot 
his  business :  he  has  the  breeding  stock,  the  feed,  and  the  equip- 
ment, and  knowing  the  parentage  of  the  calves,  he  need  save  only 
those  from  high-producing  dams. 

A  MISTAKEN  IDSIA 

Yet,  despite  the  fact  that  the  evidence  is  so  completely  in  favor 
of  dairymen  raising  their  heifer  calves,  hundreds  of  them  de- 
feat their  own  welfare  by  making  no  effort  to  rear  even  the  best 
of  their  heifer  calves.  Such  dairymen  imagine  that  because  it  re- 

437 


438  BULLETIN  No.  164  [July, 

quires  milk,  the  practice  is  too  costly  in  a  region  where  whole  milk 
is  sold.  In  one  instance  which  may  be  cited  from  many  similar 
instances,  the  heifer  calves  from  a  cow  with  an  average  production 
of  11,390  pounds  of  milk  and  404  pounds  of  butter  fat  per  year  for 
three  consecutive  years,  were  sold  to  the  butcher  as  soon  as  the 
milk  was  good.  This  practice,  tho  as  ruinous  to  the  individual 
dairyman  as  to  the  dairy  business  as  a  whole,  is  only  too  common 
in  the  intensive  dairy  region  of  northern  Illinois  and  has  led  the 
Department  of  Dairy  Husbandry  to  undertake  an  experiment  to 
determine  the  minimum  amount  of  whole  and  of  skim  milk  required 
to  raise  a  calf  successfully. 

From  a  brief  review  of  station  literature  on  calf  feeding,  given 
on  page  458,  it  will  be  noticed  that  none  of  the  experiments  con- 
ducted at  other  stations  meet  the  requirements  of  dairymen  in  com- 
munities where  whole  milk  is  sold,  as  in  Illinois.  In  none  of  these 
experiments  does  it  appear  that  the  object  was  to  determine  the 
minimum  amount  of  milk  necessary  to  insure  to  the  calves  a  satis- 
factory start  in  life. 

HOW  THE  EXPERIMENT  WAS  CONDUCTED 

This  experiment  was  divided  into  three  tests,  with  the  calves 
apportioned  into  lots,  as  follows : 

First  Test  Second  Test  Third  Test 

Lot  l:Nos.  1,  2,  3  Lot  5:  Nos.  11,  12,  13  Lot    9:  Nos.  23,  24,  25 

Lot  2:  Nos.  4,  5,  6  Lot  6:  Mos.  14,  15,  16  Lot  10:  Nos.  26,  27,  28 

Lot  3:  Nos.  7,  8,  9  L/ot  7:  Nos.  17,  18,  19 

Lot  4:  No.  10  Lot  8:  Nos.  20,  21,  22 

The  calves  were  allowed  to  remain  with  their  dams  during  the 
first  twenty-four  hours,  and  were  then  removed  and  weighed.  Dur- 
ing the  first  four  days  they  were  fed  their  mothers'  milk  according 
to  appetite,  care  being  taken  to  keep  them  from  overfeeding.  After 
this  they  were  fed  whole  and  skim  milk  in  the  amounts  shown  in 
the  tables.  In  all  cases  the  milk  was  fed  clean  and  warm  as  it  came 
from  the  separator;  had  it  been  allowed  to  become  contaminated 
or  had  it  been  fed  cold  or  sour,  digestive  trouble  would  surely  have 
been  the  result. 

As  most  farmers  will  not  take  sufficient  trouble  to  properly  use 
substitutes  for  milk,  if  at  all,  none  were  used  in  this  experiment. 
The  calves  were  transferred  from  milk  to  a  ration  composed  of 
grain,  clover  hay,  and  pasture,  thus  making  the  data  acquired  more 
directly  applicable  to  ordinary  farm  conditions. 

The  chief  economic  question  that  determines  whether  or  not 
dairymen  in  Illinois  shall  raise  heifer  calves  is  not  the  cost  of  the 
grain,  hay,  and  pasture  which  the  calves  consume,  but  the  amount 


MILK  REQUIRED  TO  RAISE  A  CALF  439 

of  milk  that  it  takes  to  get  them  started  in  life  successfully.  For 
this  reason  no  record  was  kept  of  the  amounts  of  grain  and  hay 
consumed.  Furthermore,  altho  the  feeds  were  weighed  to  each 
lot,  it  was  impossible  to  tell  how  much  was  consumed  individually 
at  any  given  age  because  the  calves  even  within  a  lot  were  of  dif- 
ferent ages  and  the  young  ones  often  slobbered  over  some  of  the 
grain  so  that  dt  had  to  be  removed. 

How  THE  FIRST  TEST  WAS  CONDUCTED 

For  the  first  test  ten  calves  were  divided  into  three  lots  of  three 
calves  each;  the  one  remaining  calf,  No.  10,  being  fed  separately, 
as  shown  in  Table  i. 

These  calves  were  from  grade  cows  in  the  University  herd. 
Many  males  were  included  because  not  enough  heifer  calves  were 
available. 

Since  the  object  of  the  experiment  was  to  determine  how  eco- 
nomically a  calf  can  be  successfully  raised  on  whole  and  skim  milk, 
and  since  skim  milk  is  the  cheaper,  some  of  the  calves  were  given 
only  a  small!  quantity  of  whole  milk,  the  attempt  being  made  to 
feed  them  largely  upon  skim  milk  when  but  a  few  days  old.  This 
deranged  the  calves'  digestion  very  seriously  in  some  cases. 

Table  I  shows!  the  length  of  time  both  whole  and  skim  milk 
were  fed  to  each  calf,  the  amounts  fed,  and  the  rapidity  with  which 
the  change  was  made  from  whole  to  skim  milk. 

Four  of  the  calves  were  given  only  15  to  21  pounds  of  whole 
milk  each.  Changing  so  early  to  skim  milk  had  a  tendency  to  de- 
range their  digestions  at  first,  and  they  did  not  do  well  afterwards 
even  tho  the  skim  milk  was  continued  longer  than  would  have  been 
necessary  had  they  been  given  a  better  start  on  whole  milk,  as  was 
done  with  Calves  Nos.  2,  5,  6,  and  10. 

In  this  preliminary  work,  three  calves  were  entirely  cut  off  from 
milk  at  42,  45,  and  46  days  of  age,  respectively.  Being  obliged  to 
subsist  upon  grain  and  hay  before  their  digestive  organs  were  able 
to  take  care  of  this  kind  of  food,  the  calves  developed  a  feverish  con- 
dition in  their  digestive  tracts.  This  gave  them  an  abnormal  craving 
which  they  tried  to  satisfy  with  water,  drinking  such  large  amounts 
that  they  breathed  with  great  difficulty.  Their  digestive  troubles 
seemed  only  to  be  increased  by  this  excessive  amount  of  water,  and 
later,  when  the  amount  given  them  was  limited,  rapid  improvement 
was  noticeable.  Altho  these  calves  were  decidedly  thin  at  two 
months  of  age,  with  careful  feeding  they  later  developed  into  good 
animals, .as  may  be  seen  from  Figs.  I,  2,  and  3. 

This  preliminary  work  demonstrated  in  a  very  striking  manner 
that  the  most  important  thing  in  raising  calves  is  to  give  them  a 
good  start.  During  the  first  two  weeks  of  their  lives  they  must  be 


440 


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BULLETIN  No.  164 


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FIG.  1.    CAI,K  No.  2,  L,ot  1. 

This  Calf  Received  166  Pounds  of  Whole  Milk  and  234  Pounds  of  Skim 
Milk;  a  Total  of  400  Pounds.     Note  Its  Thrifty  Growing  Condition. 


FIG.  2.    CAI,I?  No.  5,  LOT  2. 

This  Calf  Received  176  Pounds  of  Whole  Milk  and  Only  148  Pounds  c- 
Skim  Milk;  a  Total  of  324  Pounds.     Altho  Very  Thin  for  a  Time, 
It  Was  in  Good  Condition  When  Seven  Months  of  Age. 


MILK  REQUIRED  TO  RAISE  A  CALF 


443 


fed  a  reasonable  amount  of  milk  containing  about  3  percent  butter 
fat.  After  this,  their  feed  may  be  gradually  changed  to  skim  milk, 
but  until  they  are  about  eight  weeks  old  they  must  still  receive  prac- 
tically all  of  their  nourishment  in  the  form  of  milk.  This  work 
demonstrated  also  that  if  calves  are  required  to  obtain  even  a  por- 
tion of  their  nutriments  from  grains  or  hay  when  they  are  less  than 
seven  weeks  old,  their  digestions  will  become  badly  deranged,  and 
that  even  tho  they  are  continued  on  a  generous  amount  of  skim  milk 
for  a  considerable  length  of  time,  damage  has  been  done  from  which 
they  will  not  recover  rapidly. 

The  grain  used  to  supplement  the  milk  fed  to  one  lot  of  calves 
was  corn  alone,  and  to  the  other  lots,  a  mixture  of  grains  higher  in 
protein.  Previous  calf-feeding  experiments1  had  shown  that  corn 
was  a  better  feed  for  calves  than  oil  meal  or  a  grain  mixture  high 
in  protein.  This  proved  to  be  true  only  when  the  calves  were  given 
a  large  amount  of  skim  milk.  When  the  amount  of  both  whole  and 
skim  milk  was  limited,  the  grain  best  suited  to  feeding  was  found 
to  depend  to  a  considerable  extent  upon  its  palatability.  When 
skim  milk  is  no  longer  fed,,  of  course  the  ration  must  contain  a 
large  amount  of  protein  if  the  calves  are  to  thrive  upon  it. 


FIG.  3.    CAI,F  No.  7,  LOT  3. 

This  Calf  Received  Only  15  Pounds  of  Whole  Milk  (1  Pound  per  Day  for 

15  Days)  and  613  Pounds  of  Skim  Milk.     It  Did  Not  Receive  Enough 

Whole  Milk  the  First  Two  Weeks  of  Its  Life,  Yet  When  Eight 

Months  of  Age  It  Had  Grown  into  Fine,  Sleek  Condition. 

'Iowa. 


444  BULLETIN  No.  164  [July, 

The  condition  of  the  calves  when  about  seven  months  old  may 
be  seen  in  Figs  I,  2,  and  3,  which  show  one  representative  calf 
selected  from  each  lot.  All  the  calves  in  each  lot  were  doing  prac- 
tically as  well  between  six  and  eight  months  of  age  as  those  shown 
in  the  cuts.  It  will  be  noticed  that  there  was  a  great  variation 
in  the  amounts  of  whole  and  skim  milk  given  these  different  ani- 
mals, and  yet  the  calf  shown  in  Fig.  3,  which  received  only  1*5 
pounds  of  whole  milk,  made  an  especially  fine  growth  later  in  life. 

How  THE  SECOND  TEST  WAS  CONDUCTED 

The  twelve  calves  used  in  the  second  test  were  divided  into  four 
lots  of  three  calves  each.  As  in  the  first  test,  they  were  fed  their 
mothers'  milk  until  they  were  5  days  old,  care  being  taken  that  they 
should  not  overfeed.  They  were  then  given  whole  and  skim  milk  in 
the  amounts  shown  in  Table  2  (page  446).  With  two  exceptions, 
each  calf  was  fed  10  pounds  of  whole  milk  and  2  pounds  of  skim 
milk  per  day  for  about  10  days.  By  changing  one  pound  per  day, 
the  whole  milk  was  then  gradually  replaced  with  skim  milk,  so  that 
at  about  25  days  of  age,  the  calves  were  put  entirely  upon  skim  milk. 
They  were  then  fed  12  pounds  of  skim  milk  per  day  for  20  days,  or 
until  they  were  about  45  days  old,  at  which  age,  according  to  the 
original  plan,  their  ration  of  skim  milk  was  reduced  one  pound  per 
day  until  they  were  56  days  old,  after  which  no  milk  was  fed.  This 
plan  was  varied  from  slightly  in  a  few  cases,  and  several  of  the 
calves  were  fed  skim  milk  for  5  days  longer,  or  until  they  were  61 
days  old,  because  they  were  not,  doing  well  at  the  time.  On  the 
whole,  the  calves  in  the  second  test  did  not  have  their  digestions  so 
badly  deranged  as  those  in  the  first  test,  and  for  this  reason  they 
did  not  get  into  as  poor  condition. 

The  grains  fed  the  calves  in  the  second  test  were  as  follows : 

lyOt  5  lyOt  6 

Whole  oats  Whole  oats 1  part 

Ground  flaxseed 2  parts 

L,ot  7  L,ot  8 

Whole  oats 4  parts  Same  mixture  as  fed  to  L/ot  7,1  part 

Corn 4  parts  Ground  flaxseed 2  parts 

Bran 1  part 

Linseed  meal 1  part 

The  roughage  fed  to  all  four  of  the  lots  was  good  clover  hay. 

Theoretically,  because  of  its  composition,  a  grain  mixture  com- 
posed largely  of  ground  flaxseed  containing  the  oil  would  seem  to 
be  the  ideal  feed  for  calves  maintained  on  skim  milk,  but  it  was 
found  in  this  test  that  because  of  its  lack  of  palatability  the  calves 
would  not  consume  enough  o-f  it,  while  they  ate  more  freely  of  the 


MILK  REQUIRED  TO  RAISE  A  CALF 


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BULLETIN  No.  164 


other  grains,  which  they  appeared  to  like  much  better.  This  would 
seem  to  show  that  palatability  is  a  more  important  factor  than  nu- 
tritive value. 

Table  3  gives  the  breeding  of  each  calf,  and  the  condition  of 
dam  and  calf  and  the  weight  of  calf  at  birth.  It  also  shows  the 
amount  of  whole  and  skim  milk  consumed  during  the  first  ten  weeks 
of  the  calf's  life,  the  gain  made  by  each  calf,  and  its  weight  at  the 
end  of  the  ten  weeks.  It  must  be  understood  that  each  calf  had 
consumed  a  small  amount  of  grain  and  hay  by  the  time  it  was  ten 
weeks  old. 

From  this  table  it  will  be  seen  that  it  was  found  possible  to  raise 
calves  on  a  moderate  amount  of  milk;  the  average  amount  required 
being  152  pounds  of  whole  milk  and  435  pounds  of  skim  milk. 
They  were  rather  thin  for  a  time,  it  is  true,  but  they  were  kept  on 
pasture  with  a  little  grain  until  about  six  months  of  age,  when  they 
were  all  in  good,  thrifty  condition,  as  shown  in  Figs.  4,  5,  and  6. 
It  will  be  noticed  that  they  made  an  average  gain  of  65  pounds 
during  the  first  70  days  of  their  lives,  which  was  doing  fairly  well 
for  dairy  calves. 

About  half  the  calves  used  for  this  experiment  were  from  grade 
cows  in  the  University  herd ;  the  remainder  were  borrowed  at  birth 
from  neighboring  dairymen  and  returned  to  them  at  about  six 
months  of  age.  Several  of  the  calves  kept  by  the  University  de- 
veloped into  good  producers. 


FIG.  6.    CALVES  FROM  SECOND  TEST. 
Note  Their  Fine  Condition  When  About  Six  Months  of  Age. 


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452 


BULLETIN  No.  164 


[July, 


How  THE  THIRD  TEST  WAS  CONDUCTED 

The  six  calves  in  the  third  test  were  divided  into  two  lots  of 
three  calves  each.  Most  of  these  calves  were  given  more  whole 
milk  than  those  in  the  previous  tests  in  an  attempt  to  give  them  a 
better  start  before  putting  them  on  a  skim-milk  ration.  The  length 
of  time  both  whole  and  skim  milk  were  fed  each  calf,  the  amounts 
fed,  and  the  rapidity  with  which  the  change  was  made  from  whole 
to  skim  milk  may  be  seen  from  Table  4. 

It  will  be  noted  that  Calf  Xo.  23  received  220  pounds  of  whole 
milk.  While  it  is  true  that  these  calves  had  a  somewhat  better  start 
than  those  in  the  first  and  second  tests,  it  was  found  that  when 
whole  milk  is  high  priced,  it  is  ordinarily  not  necessary  to  feed  a 
healthy  calf  more  than  150  to  170  pounds  before  changing  the 
ration  to  skim  milk,  if  care  is  exercised  to  have  the  milk  warm, 
sweet,  and  clean,  and  if  the  change  from  whole  to  skim  milk  is  made 
gradually,  as  was  done  with  Calves  Xos.  24,  25,  27,  and  28.  These 
calves  were  always  healthy,  and  while  they  were  rather  thin  from 
the  time  they  were  eight  to  twelve  or  fifteen  weeks  old,  they  grew 
into  good  condition  later  and  made  fine,  healthy  heifers. 

Thus  the  belief  that  calves  could  be  successfully  raised  on  ap- 
proximately 150  pounds  of  whole  milk  and  450  pounds  of  skim 
milk  has  been  confirmed  bv  this  third  test. 


TABLE  4 — WHOLE  AND  SKIM  MILK  CONSUMED  BY  THE  CALVES  IN  THE 
THIRD  TEST  (Amounts  Expressed  in  Pounds) 


Lot  9 


Lot  10 


Calf 

Calf 

Calf            Calf 

Calf 

Calf 

No.  23 

No.  24 

No.  25 

No.  26 

No.  27 

No.  28 

Age, 

Milk 

Milk 

Milk 

Milk 

Milk 

Milk 

days 

* 

o 

V 

e 

V 

<u 

"o 

I 

"o 

a 

*0 

a 

"o 

g 

"o 

g 

*0 

J 

j2 

jj 

J5 

j^* 

^ 

'£ 

l^ 

3d 

^ 

IS 

^^ 

15 

>2. 

^JKj 

^ 

CO 

^ 

co 

rf 

co       := 

t> 

rrt 

? 

CO 

5 

13 

13 

13 

13 

13 

13 

6 

13 

13 

13 

13 

13 

10 

2 

7 

X3 

10 

2 

10 

2 

13 

10 

2 

10 

2 

8 

13 

10 

2 

10 

2 

13 

6 

2 

10 

2 

9 

13 

10 

2 

10 

2 

13 

10 

2 

10 

2 

10 

13 

6 

2 

10 

2    |  13 

10 

2 

10 

2 

11 

13 

10 

2 

10 

2 

10 

2 

10 

2 

10 

2 

12 

13 

10 

2 

10 

2    1 

10 

2 

10 

2 

10 

2 

13 

13 

10 

2 

10 

2 

10 

2 

10 

2 

10 

2 

14 

10 

2 

10 

2 

10 

2 

6 

2 

10 

2 

10 

2 

15 

10 

2 

10 

2 

10 

2    i    10 

2 

9 

3 

10 

2 

16 

10 

2 

10 

2 

10 

2 

10 

2 

10 

2 

9 

3' 

17 

6 

2 

9 

3 

9 

3 

10 

2 

9 

3 

8 

4 

18 

10 

2 

8 

4 

8 

4 

10 

2 

8 

4 

7 

5 

19 

10 

2 

7 

5 

7 

5 

10 

2 

7 

5 

6 

6 

20 

10 

2 

6 

6 

6 

6       10 

2 

6 

6 

5 

7 

21 

10 

2 

5 

7 

5 

7    II     9 

3 

5 

7 

4 

8 

MILK  REQUIRED  TO  RAISE  A  CALF 


453 


TABLE  4. — Continued 


Lot  9 

Lot  10 

Calf 

Calf 

Calf 

Calf 

Calf 

Calf 

No.  23 

No.  24 

No.  25         No.  26 

No.  27 

No.  28 

Ag-e,                 Milk 

Milk 

Milk            Milk 

Milk 

Milk 

days                v 

V 

G 

« 

V 

V 

"o 

I 

"o 

.§ 

*3 

z 

"o 

a 

"o 

H 

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jq 

f* 

J3 

f{ 

i 

02 

1 

.M 

| 

5! 

^ 

CC 

i 

en 

f£ 

IfL 

22 

10 

2 

4 

8 

4 

8 

8 

4 

4 

8 

3 

9 

23 

10 

2 

3 

9 

3 

9 

8 

5 

3 

9 

2 

10 

24 

9 

3 

2 

10 

2 

10 

6 

6 

2 

10 

1 

11 

25 

8 

4 

1 

11 

1 

11 

5 

7 

1 

11 

12 

26 

7 

5 

12 

12 

4 

8 

12 

12 

27 

6 

6 

12 

12 

3 

9 

12 

12 

28 

5 

7 

12 

12 

2 

10 

12 

12 

29 

4 

8 

12 

12 

1 

11 

12 

12 

30 

3 

9 

12 

12 

12 

12 

12 

31 

2 

10 

12 

12 

12 

12 

12 

32 

1 

11 

12 

12 

12 

12 

12 

33 

12 

12 

12 

12 

12 

12 

34 

12 

12 

12 

12 

12 

12 

35 

12 

12 

12 

12 

12 

12 

36 

12 

11 

12 

12 

11 

12 

37 

12 

10 

12 

12 

12 

12 

38 

12 

9 

12 

12 

12 

12 

39 

12 

12 

12 

12 

12 

12 

40 

12 

12 

12 

11 

12 

12 

41 

12 

12 

12 

10 

12 

12 

42 

12 

12 

12 

9 

12 

12 

43 

11 

12 

12 

12 

12 

12 

44 

10 

12 

12 

12 

12 

12 

45 

9 

12 

12 

12 

12 

11 

46 

12 

11 

12 

12 

11 

10 

47 

12 

10 

11 

12 

10 

9 

48 

12 

10 

10 

12 

9 

8 

49 

12 

9 

9 

12 

8 

7 

50 

12 

8 

8 

11 

7 

6 

51 

12 

7 

7 

10 

6 

5 

52 

12 

6 

6 

10 

5 

4 

53 

11 

5 

5 

9 

4 

3 

54 

10 

4 

4 

8 

3 

2 

55 

10 

•i 

3 

7 

2 

1 

56 

10 

o 

2 

6 

1 

57 

9 

1 

1 

5 

58 

8 

1 

4 

59 

7 

3 

60 

6 

2 

61 

5 

1 

62 

4 

63 

3 

64 

2 

65 

1 

Total        .  258 

403 

167 

394 

171 

401 

220 

393 

166 

389 

158 

389 

454  BULLETIN  No.  164  [July, 


SUMMARY  AXD  CONCLUSIONS 

To  summarize  the  results  of  the  different  tests,  Table  5  was 
compiled  giving  the  total  amount  of  whole  milk,  the  total  amount 
of  skim  milk,  and  the  total  amount  of  both  whole  and  skim  milk 
consumed  by  each  of  the  calves  in  the  three  tests. 

THE  FIRST  TEST 

From  Table  5  it  will  be  seen  that  five  of  the  ten  calves  in  the 
first  test  were  given  only  15  to  40  pounds  of  whole  milk  each  and 
545  to  613  pounds  of  skim  milk,  and  that  the  total  amount  of 
both  whole  and  skim  milk  ranged  from  563  up  to  646  pounds.  As 
this  experiment  was  intended  to  apply  to  conditions  where  skim 
milk,  as  well  as  whole  milk,  is  scarce  or  high  priced,  the  other  five 
calves  in  the  first  test  were  given  from  108  to  176  pounds  of  whole 
milk  and  from  148  to  363  pounds  of  skim  milk. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  Calf  No.  10  received  a  total  of  only  319 
pounds  of  milk.  Altho  this  calf  was  fed  too  small  an  amount  of 
milk  and  was  entirely  cut  off  from  milk  before  it  had  reached  the 
age  at  which  it  could  digest  grain  and  hay  properly,  it  finally  grew 
into  good  condition,  but  for  a  time  it  was  in  poorer  condition  than, 
it  is  wise  to  permit. 

The  conclusion  to  be  drawn  from  this  preliminary  work  is  that 
it  is  necessary  to  give  the  calves  a  fairly  good  start  on  whole  milk 
and  also  to  feed  them  a  reasonable  amount  of  skim  milk  until  they 
are  about  eight  weeks  of  age. 

THE  SECOND  TEST 

The  calves  in  the  second  test,  Nos.  1 1  to  22  inclusive,  were  fed 
from  137  to  167  pounds  of  whole  milk  and  from  378  to  491  pounds 
of  skim  milk.  This  feeding  proved  to  be  much  more  rational,  as 
is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  calves  in  this  test  had  less  trouble  with 
their  digestions  and  did  much  better  than  most  of  those  in  the  first 
test.  The  total  amount  of  milk  given  each  of  these  calves  varied 
from  540  to  638  pounds.  This  proved  to  be  quite  ample  to  raise  a 
calf  successfully. 

THE  THIRD  TEST 

The  calves  in  the  third  test,  Nos.  23  to  28  inclusive,  in  some 
cases  were  fed  somewhat  more  liberally,  especially  of  whole  milk, 
than  those  in  the  second  test,  but  they  did  not  do  much  better.  The 
results  of  these  second  and  third  tests  would  therefore  seem  to  show 


MILK  REQUIRED  TO  RAISE  A  CALF 


455 


TABLE  5.— AMOUNT  AND  VALUE  OF  MILK  CONSUMED  BY  EACH  CALF 
IN  THE  EXPERIMENT 


Milk  consumed. 

Cost  of  milk  fed  each  calf   (skim  milk 

Calf 

pounds 

at  25c  per  100  pounds;  whole  milk  at 
values  given  below) 

No 

Whole 

Skim 

Total 

$1.00 

$1.20 

$1.40 

$1.60       $1.80 

First  Test 


1 

108 

363 

471 

1.99 

2.20 

2.42 

2.64 

2.85 

2 

166 

234 

400 

2.25 

2.58 

2.91 

3.24 

3.57 

3 

18 

545 

563 

1.54 

1.58 

1.61 

1.65 

1.69 

4 

17 

550 

567 

1.55 

1.58 

1.61 

1.65 

1.68 

5 

176 

148 

324 

2.13 

2.48 

2.83 

3.19 

3.54 

6 

140 

361 

501 

2.30 

2.58 

2.86 

3.14 

3.42 

7 

21 

606 

627 

1.72 

1.76 

1.81 

1.86 

1.90 

8 

15 

613 

628 

1.68 

1.71 

1.74 

1.77 

1.80 

9 

40 

C06 

646 

1.92 

2.00 

2.08 

2.16 

2.24 

10 

117 

202 

319 

1.68 

1.91 

2.14 

2.38 

2.61 

Second  Test 


11 

150 

397 

547  • 

2.49 

2.79 

3.09 

3.39 

3.69 

12 

162 

378 

540 

2.57 

2.89 

3.22 

3.54 

3.86 

13 

137 

444 

581 

2.48 

2.75 

3.03 

3.30 

3.57 

14 

155 

403 

558 

2.56 

2.87 

3.18 

3.49 

3.80 

15 

155 

403 

558 

2.56 

2.87 

3.18 

3.49 

3.80 

16 

156 

402 

558 

2.57 

2.88 

3.19- 

3.50 

3.81 

17 

167 

415 

582 

2.71 

3.04 

3.38 

3.71 

4.04 

18 

157 

458 

615 

2.71 

3.03 

3.34 

3.66 

3.97 

19 

138 

452 

590 

2.51 

2.79 

3.06 

3.34 

3.61 

20 

141 

491 

632 

2.64 

2.92 

3.20 

3.48 

3.77 

21 

157 

481 

638 

2.77 

3.09 

3.40 

3.71 

4.03 

22 

145 

491 

636 

2.68 

2.97 

3.26 

3.55 

3.84 

Third  Test 


23 

258 

403 

661 

3.59 

4.10 

4.62 

5.14 

5.65 

24 

167 

394 

561 

2.66 

2.99 

3.32 

3.66 

3.99 

25 

171 

401 

572 

2.71 

3.05 

3.40 

3.74 

4.08 

26 

220 

393 

613 

3.18 

3.62 

4.06 

4.50 

4.94 

27 

166 

389 

555 

2.63 

2.96 

3.30 

3.63 

3.96 

28 

158 

389 

547 

2.55 

2.87 

3.18 

3.50 

3.82 

Average 


j      134 

422 

557 

2.40 

2.67 

2.94 

3.21 

3.48 

456  BULLETIN  No.  164  [July, 

that  the  important  thing  in  the  raising  of  calves  is  to  give  them  a 
fairly  good  start  on  whole  milk  during  the  first  three  weeks,  and 
that  after  this,  whole  milk  may  be  successfully  replaced  with  skim 
milk  if  the  skim  milk  is  fed  sweet  and  warm  as  it  comes  from  the 
separator.  The  calves  should  be  continued  on  12  pounds  of  skim 
milk  a  day  until  they  are  about  seven  weeks  old,  and  thereafter  the 
amount  may  be  rapidly  reduced,  so  that  by  the  time  they  are  about 
eight  weeks  old  they  will  be  receiving  no  milk  at  all.  At  this  age 
their  digestive  organs  have  normally  reached  a  stage  of  develop- 
ment which  permits  the  feeding  of  grain  and  hay  without  causing 
serious  digestive  disorders. 

There  is  a  lack  of  sufficient  data  from  which  to  draw  absolute 
conclusions  regarding  the  amount  of  milk  required  to  raise  a  calf. 
Where  it  is  possible,  more  milk  than  herein  recommended  should 
be  fed,  as  it  is  always  best  to  keep  a  calf  in  a  good  growing  condi- 
tion from  its  birth  to  maturity. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  alfalfa  hay  is  a  most  excellent 
feed  for  calves.  If  the  calves  in  these  tests  could  have  had  a  good 
supply  of  choice  alfalfa  hay,  they  would  have  been  greatly  benefited. 
Every  farmer  should  raise  at  least  a  small  amount  of  alfalfa  hay 
if  for  no  other  ourpose  than  to  feed  to  his  calves 

COST  OP  MILK  FED  EACH  CAL,F 

The  remaining  portion  of  Table  5  deals  with  the  cost  of  milk  fed 
each  calf  when  skim  milk  is  worth  25  cents  per  hundred  pounds 
and  the  value  of  whole  milk  varies  from  $i  to  $1.80  per  hundred 
pounds,  on  the  farm. 

It  will  be  noted  that  with  whole  milk  at  $1.40  per  hundred 
pounds,  the  value  of  the  total  milk  consumed  per  calf  varied  from 
$1.61  to  $4.62.  This  value  is  comparatively  small,  and  yet  at  six 
months  of  age  every  one  of  the  twenty-eight  calves  was  in  good 
condition. 

WHY  IT  PAYS  TO  RAISE  HEIEERS 

The  figures  in  Table  5  show  that  the  cost  of  the  milk  required 
to  raise  a  calf  successfully  is  not  excessive.  Experienced  dairymen 
say  that  the  heifers  they  raise  from  their  best  cows  produce  as  much 
during  their  first  lactation  period  as  do  the  average  mature  cows 
they  can  buy.  The  Department  of  Dairy  Husbandry  has  weighed 
and  tested  the  milk  of  a  large  number  of  individual  cows  in  the 
dairy  herds  over  the  state,  thus  obtaining  their  yearly  production, 
and  they  find  that  the  average  annual  production  of  the  cows  in  the 
herds  where  grading  has  not  been  practiced  is  177.6  pounds  of 
butter  fat,  making  an  annual  profit  of  $5.33  per  cow,  while  the 


1913}  MILK  REQUIRED  TO  RAISE  A  CALF  457 

average  annual  production  of  the  cows  in  herds  where  grading  has 
been  practiced  is  263  pounds  of  butter  fat,  making  an  annual  profit 
of  $25.86  per  cow.  This  means  that  the  average  cow  in  the  herds 
where  grading  has  been  practiced  earns  for  her  owner  $20.53  more 
annually  than  the  average  cow  in  the  herds  where  grading  has  not 
been  practiced,  or  practically  five  times  as  much. 

This  annual  advantage  of  $20.53  to  offset  the  care,  trouble,  and 
cost  of  raising  the  heifers  from  the  best  cows,  makes  evident  at 
once  the  fallacy  of  the  belief  that  milk  at  the  market  price  is  too 
expensive  to  feed  even  good  calves.  If  one  considers  that  $20.53  *3 
equal  to  five-percent  interest  on  $410,  it  certainly  makes  the  cost 
of  the  milk  required  for  the  calf  ($4.62)  look  very  insignificant. 


BRIEF  STATEMENT  OF  SOME  CALF-FEEDIXG  EXPERI- 
MENTS OF  OTHER  STATIONS 

1.  Substitutes  for  Skimmed  Milk  in  Raising  Calves.    E.  S.  Sav- 
age and  W.  G.  Tailby,  Jr.,  New  York   (Cornell)   Bui.  No.  304, 
1911.     (A  comparison  of  skim  milk  and  Schumacher's  calf  meal, 
Blatchford's  calf  meal,  and  Lacenta  Suisse,  a  foreign  calf  meal.) 

2.  Raising  Calves  (for  beef)  on  Separator  Milk.  H.  T.  French, 
Idaho  Bui.  48,  1905. 

3.  Upon  Skim  Milk  as  a  Food  for  Calves.    C.  S.  Plumb.    Ind. 
Bui.  47,  1893. 

4.  Calf  Feeding  Experiment.    J.  Wilson,  G.  E.  Patrick,  C.  F. 
Curtiss,  and  D.  A.  Kent.    Iowa  Bui.  14,  1891.     (A  comparison  of 
whole  milk  and  a  combination  of  skim  milk  and  ground  flaxseed.) 

5.  Experiments  with  Hand-fed  Calves.    D.  H.  Otis.    Kan.  Bui. 
126,  1904.     (A  comparison  of  calves  nursing -dams  with  calves  fed 
whole  and  skim  milk.) 

6.  Feeding  Experiments  \vith  Calves.     J.  B.  Lindsey.     Mass. 
State  Report  for  1894,  pp.  125-145.     (Skim  milk  and  various  oils 
used  as  feed.) 

7.  Rearing  Calves   on   Skim   Milk   and   Supplementary   Feed. 
H.  W.  Norton,  Jr.  Mich.  Bui.  257,  1909.     (An  experiment  in  rais- 
ing calves  for  beef  and  dairy  purposes  on  whole  milk  and  on  skim 
milk  supplemented  with  hay,  roots,  green  feed,  and  grain.) 

8.  Raising  Dairy  Bred  Calves.    T.  L.  Haecker.    Minn.  Bui.  35, 
1894.     (A  comparison  of  whole  milk  and  skim  milk  supplemented 
by  flaxseed  meal.) 

9.  Feeding  Experiments  with  Calves.     Miss.  Report  for  1888, 
p.  43.     (A  comparison  of  the  value  of  eight  pounds  of  whole  milk 
with  that  of  an  unlimited  quantity  of  skim  milk,  and  with  ten, 
pounds  of  skim  milk  and  Blatchford's  calf  meal.) 


458  BULLETIN   Xo.   164  [July. 

Miss.  Report  for  1904,  pp.  14,  15.  (An  experiment  in  raising 
calves  on  skim  milk,  cotton-seed  meal,  wheat  bran,  and  cotton-seed 
hulls.) 

10.  A  Test  of  Calf  Rations.     A.  L.  Haecker.     Xeb.  Bui.  87, 
1905.      (A  comparison  of  calves  fed  skim  milk  supplemented  by 
grain  with  calves  nursing  dams.) 

11.  The  Cost  of  Raising  Calves.     F.  W.  Morse.     X.  H,  Bui. 
58,  1898.     (Calves  raised  on  skim  milk  and  flaxseed  jelly.) 

12.  Feeding  Experiments  with  Calves.     H.  Hay  ward.     Penna. 
Report  for  1902,  pp.  303-313.     (A  comparison  of  two  home-made 
substitutes  for  milk,  and  skim  milk.) 

13.  By- Products  of  the  Dairy,     (a)  Experiments  in  Pig  Feed- 
ing,    (b)  Experiments  in  Calf  Feeding.    F.  B.  Linfield.    Utah  Bui. 
57,  1898.     (A  comparison  of  whole  milk  and  skim  milk  for  raising 
and  fattening  calves  for  veal. ) 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 

Q  630.7IL6B  C001 

BULLETIN.  URBANA 
153-1651912-13 


30112019528428 


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